HW 23 - Illness & Dying Book Part Two

Author: Tracy Kidder

Title: Mountains Beyond Mountains

Publisher: Random House

Year Published: 2003

Precis: Paul Farmer's ambition to treat those with TB continues to sky rocket. Poverty and sickness are connected, this idea pushes him to go beyond Haiti, and to start a movement to help those in third world countries. (Part III - Part V)

1. "On this map, the line dividing the two color-coded parts of humanity-what Farmer called the "great epi divide" (epi being short for epidemiological)-would partition many countries, many cities. Most of Haiti would wear the color of ill health, but parts of the hills above Port-au-Prince would be a patch of well-being. The map of the United States, by contrast, would depict a healthy nation speckled with disease." (Page 125) After watching Sicko, Farmer's insight on the dividing line of health is interesting. In the movie it came off as though in comparison to other Western countries we are the least healthy. However when you compare our health system to Haiti's, sickness is rare.
2. "Word got back that guerrillas had planted the bomb because the pharmacy represented "crumbs for the poor," a palliative designed to curb the growth of revolutionary fervor... Jim felt insulted. Paul would tell him: "Remember, serving the poor in Carabayllo is more important than soothing your own ego. It's called eating s*** for the poor." This sort of advice was always tonic for Jim." (Page 131) I can't imagine seeing the world through those who bombed the pharmacy. It seems as though the trend of greed, that is very predominate in our country gives us the sense that we should only help ourselves.
3. "But these really wasn't much question of turning away. Jim took an expansive view: "Forgive me for saying this, but the great thing about TB is that it's airborne." Tuberculosis was only predominantly a disease of the poor, Jim reasoned... In the era of AIDS, the affluent world would have to pay attention to the threat of TB so difficult to treat, and to dire but real possibility that "superbug," strains resistant to every known antibiotic, would spread across borders-between homeless shelter and Park Avenue in New York, between poor and wealthy nations. "We've got to say, "MDR is a threat to everyone, ' " Jim declared. "We can scare the world, and if we do this project right, we can have a global impact." (Page 143) In many ways the struggle of getting well off people involved in helping the poor seems a lot like the Food Industry. Unless you are personally affected by the issue at stake you have no reason to care. An illusion of the health system is put into place and we buy every word of it, and at a certain point many just choose to ignore completely. Until something happens to us, we simply do not care.
4. "Speaking of his bout of hepatitis, Farmer told me, "If I get sick, it'll be nearly fatal." He was drawing a contrast between himself and the world's poor. A generous thought, but his habit of disregarding his health seemed like a way of expressing "pragmatic solidarity." Given the responsibilities for other lives he'd taken on, it seemed to me he'd done the opposite." (Page 153) I wonder if Farmer feels body-centered, if he ignores his own body and continues to work does this make his whole life an out of body experience?
5. "Jim once told me, "There have been fundamental frame shifts in human beings feel is morally defensible, what not. The world doesn't bind women's feet anymore, no one believes in slavery. Paul and I are anthropologists. We know that things change all the time. Culture changes all the time. Advertising people force changes in culture all the time. Why can't we do that? People in international health sit back and say, 'Will things change for the better? Who knows? But these Paul Farmers, they'll drop out, and when they do, we stalwarts will be here figuring out the best way to spend two dollars and twenty-seven cents per capita for health care.' " (Page 175) There is a immense amount of problems when it comes to the health system. Those who don't have a voice are represented by people like Farmer and those who do have a voice don't see anything wrong with the system. Yet wealth shouldn't determine the life span of a human being. If it does then our whole lives are based off of selfish behavior.

It makes me feel sick of the amount of Paul Farmer's we have in this world. We are so consumed with our own "problems" that we forget at the drop of a hat the real problems throughout the world. The amount of money a person makes should not place them higher on the spectrum. In a sense they should feel obligated to use the extra money being spent on unnecessary materials towards a more needy cause. I mean we are all here on this planet at the same time trying to make it through each day, why should certain people be labeled better than others? Until you are exposed to the truth you either know it exists and choose to ignore it or figure the way you are is the way everyone else is, and don't bother exploring that theory. Meaning we live day by day, hour by hour never questioning who else is out there. Hence it leads us to problems such as the ones Farmer is dealing with, nations of people who are dying left to right because we decided our time was too precious. This gives us the label of selfish human beings who take advantage of our privileges and instead of spreading the wealth we complain about our minor personal issues. By living this way, we may live more years but how can we feel satisfied thinking the world revolves around us?